Schilling Cider House Opens in Fremont

The cidery finally has a tap room of its own, with 32 taps specially outfitted for cider.

Colin Schilling, a former employee of Microsoft founded Schilling Cider last year based on his belief in hard cider with no artificial flavors or "illegitimate sugars." Now he has expanded into his own tap house (slash cider bar) in Fremont, where every cider on draft shares this sensibility.

Eat: Outside food. There's no kitchen here, but customers are encouraged to bring in their own food. Schilling has coordinated with nearby restaurants to deliver food to the bar.

Drink: Cider, duh. Drinkers have 32 taps to choose from, two of which are outfitted for nitro ciders. No beer will ever touch these tap lines, says Schilling. They're designed especially for cider (beer tap lines have a mechanism that reduces foam). Schilling also has bottle selections from Spain, England, California, and Washington, to name a few. He says he will only sell ciders that don't use artificial sugar.

Sit: At tables made out of a wall. Before Schilling Cider moved in, a giant wall of old fir divided the space. Schilling knocked that down and used all of the beautiful wood to make his bar and tables. He also bought a bunch of old Redhook kegs and has fashioned them into light fixtures and sinks for the bathrooms.

Bonus Intel: Schilling made his own stainless steel Randall, a beer-infusing device. His attaches to a tap so cider flows through a chamber that contains the infusing ingredient, and comes out the other end with a little extra oomph.